In a ranty-style self-described "love letter" to New York City, writer Laura L.M. Hill uses Los Angeles--well, her weird, limited version of it--to complain about how hotels are currently doing business. The target of her ire is a new hotel that touts to its guests the need to never leave the property, because the amenities on-site are so terrific. more ›

Amid these belt tightening times, Santa Monica wants to raise the sales tax and Culver City has a similar idea, but they want to hit up tourists for some extra money instead. The City Council Monday night took steps to place a measure on the November ballot that would increase the Transient Occupancy Tax rate from 12 percent to 14 percent, according to the Los Angeles Wave. The tax places a levy on people who buy lodging for 30 days or less. more ›

West Hollywood has one of the highest rates of smoking in Los Angeles County. Maybe that's part of the city's rock and roll culture, or maybe it's due to the lack of a public smoking ordinance, something found in many surrounding cities. A task force that met Friday began to shape a proposed smoking ordinance, according to the WeHo News. Under one idea, smoking would be banned at restaurants with outdoor dining areas that serve minors younger than 18. more ›

--Joni Mitchell, "Big Yellow Taxi" more ›

Bill Marriott, the Chairman and CEO of Marriott International, posted a blog entry on the company's website yesterday defending his own and his hotel brand's involvement in Prop 8's success. Marriott is heavily involved in the Mormon community. Is he feeling the financial pressure? Is he unfairly guilty by association? Or is he just chiming into the issue? more ›

"It's another attempt by the Ethics Commission to make it undesirable to be a lobbyist, and it has no public policy benefit," billboard lobbyist Steve Afriat told the LA Times about a city Ethics Commission proposal of making lobbyists wear badges when they're "engaged in lobbying." more ›

As reported yesterday in the midst of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's scandal where he was busted for his involvement in a prostitution ring, the same high-scale service he used has ties in Los Angeles as well as Washington, DC, Miami, London and Paris. more ›

The City of West Hollywood's Planning Commission met the other night to discuss the Standard Hotel's request to extend their poolside hours to 1:30 a.m. from the current weekend midnight closing (closes at 10 p.m. on weekdays), keeping the hotel's poolside bar competitive with other Sunset Strip nightlife options. B-Side Blog attended the meeting to support the idea, but left the meeting fuming. He was the first to speak during public comment:

... as I wrapped up my little speech, something came over me. I just felt the need to be... snarky. I told the Commission that the Sunset Strip has been around for decades. People who move next door and complain about the noise, well, that's like moving next to a dumpster and complaining about the smell. ZING!

Frommer's website for the Budget Travel magazine has an interesting, on-going feature where they ask "experts" from around the country to answer questions sent in from their readers in a chat. The experts have one hour to answer as many questions as they can. Afterwards the site adds links, corrects spelling (omg thank you!), adds a pretty picture, and puts it on their site. This morning yours truly was the special guest and the... more ›

The Malibu fire is now 25% contained. At least 35 structures have been destroyed and thousands were forced to flee as wind whipped flames ravaged the coastal town. The cause of the blaze is not known at this time, but crews haven't ruled out CNN's Glen Beck. In other fire-related news, two people died this morning when a house fire ripped through their Pasadena home. The cause of the fire is unknown. A woman... more ›

Let's start over, shall we? Disney is investing $1.1 billion into California (Mis)adventure, the ghost town of an amusement park next to Disneyland. The Rose Queen for the Pasadena Rose Parade was announced this morning and her name is Dusty. We just love that name for a girl. Staring now, there is no excuse for anyone of any age to ever go "I don't get blogging." The world's oldest blogger celebrated her birthday this... more ›

Disneyland in Anaheim may have the exclusive and secret Club 33, but your chances of experiencing it is slim -- you've got to have the money, the "in" and the location (above the Blue Bayou, look for the door with the number 33 on it, then knock, someone might open it up... and yes, when we ate there, it was damn good). That's why Disney World in the "other" Orange County is much better... more ›

"Constance" by Mr. J. Medeiros of Echo Park more ›

The folks at Omni Hotels realize that many of you are still hungering for an Apple iPhone, and they have two cool ways to feed you this week. First, each hotel location will be giving away a brand spanking new iPhone, and there is no purchase necessary. All you have to do to be entered in the sweepstakes is to get yourself down to our local Omni Hotel, which is located Downtown in California Plaza,... more ›

Earlier this year, International Creative Management (ICM) and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) moved their offices from Beverly HIlls to within the city limits of Los Angeles in Century City. Score one for LA where expensive high power lunches turn in to tax revenue for city coffers (we're talking "a side of assorted mushrooms sells for $21 and a Wagyu rib-eye costs $98"). One problem though, Century City choices were slim for Hollywood agents: The... more ›

Thousands of video game addicts, cosplayers and booth babe fans shed tears last year when the Entertainment Software Association announced that it would be scaling back the size and focus of future E3 Expos. The game industry and fan bacchanalia had previously attracted a record attendance of over 60,000 visitors and 400 companies in 2006. Instead of being held at LA's own Convention Center, the "more intimate" show will take place this year in... more ›

If you’ve missed all the bright orange book ads and have ducked all the media coverage (New York, The New Yorker, Vogue), you’re one of the few readers who hasn’t heard of The Manny, alleged to be this summer’s Devil Wears Prada: chick-lit for the beach, right-coast division. It’s a simple story: Glam Park Avenue working wife juggles her high-powered network news job, her sullen, money-obsessed lawyer husband, and three adorable children. She hires... more ›

This weekend we were enjoying televised entertainment when we happened to notice Prince doing a Verizon ad. Does Prince even do ads? Whatever, it worked on us, we watched, we enjoyed, it was great. Until the end when it seemed like the ad company totally ripped off LA gossip blog Pink is the New Blog by stenciling a light-colored purple "Be A Music Hunter" on its final image. Unless PITNB's Trent is being paid... more ›

Could it be? Did someone finally out ArcLight the ArcLight? If one of The Standard hotels built a theater, it would look like the new Landmark. The most accurate way of describing it is “boutique”. The Landmark is all about the visual angles; sloping fixtures light the theaters and give a completely different feeling of space than you would expect for a “mall theater”. Angled walls line the hallways, and an angled ceiling compliments... more ›

If you've lived in L.A. for more than two years and haven't experienced wine country, it's time to take the trip. We finally did, making the three-hour trek to Paso Robles, and now can't believe we'd put it off this long. more ›

Besides being adorable and ridiculously talented, Annie Clark aka St. Vincent is a total smart ass. If we hadn't read her interview with John Vanderslice (who she is opening for tomorrow night at the Largo), we might have mistaken her flippant humor for dry insults. But no, she's being funny and we love her for that. more ›

Last October, if you recall, LAist took a road trip around the country. For 40 days we drove an old car around the nation and slept in hotels and motels and even at our friends' homes and the first thing we asked before we booked a room or accepted a spare guest room was, "how's your connection?" And even though it was 2006, we were shocked at how many people we're all, "what connection?" Your... more ›

After a packed day of panels and Organic To Go food, we're looking forward to Sunday's LA Times Book Festival offerings. Here's why: more ›

#68 50-year-old dead baby found in Del Ray Beach in a suitcase hidden in another suitcase - AP more ›

The other day, LAist received an inquiry via email about our picks for the restaurants that have something inedible (but, perhaps indelible) on the menu: A great waterfront view. We did a little culling, and have come up with the following lowdown. more ›

#32 - White powder found at two South Florida courthouses. Money quote: "The substance is being tested, but does not appear to be a hazardous, McInerny said." - Miami Herald #33 - Three masked men with knives go to the valet parking line of one of the largest rare coin shows in the world at one of the busiest luxury hotels in Orlando and walk off with $4 million worth of coinage. - International... more ›

As 2006 ends and 2007 begins, the -ists look back not at the past week, but at the past year. So here it is, your Best of 2006 Spectacular. And from all of us at the -ists, happy New Year! more ›

Click around LAist. We don't really listen to a lot of new-fangled country music. We love the oldies: Cash, Willie, Waylon, Hank Sr., Patsy. But when we heard that NBC refused to run the ad for the Dixie Chicks documentary Shut Up & Sing, we ran to the theater to see what the fuss was all about. This is a great film. That's why NBC didn't like it. They hate things that are good.... more ›

But by 2004, the complicated lighting system began to malfunction. Some pylons blacked out while others were splotchy. To fix them, electricians had to hang upside-down in harnesses. more ›

LAist is on the road seeing the country the way it was meant to be seen: quickly and via roadside motels. Currently we are leaving Minnesota on our way to Chicago. But before we left the twin cities we HAD to see this thing called the Mall of America. The parking lots are named after states, and guess what the first level parking lot is? Thats right, LA. No, we mean California. Hawaii seemed... more ›